Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Hearing He Daqing say this, Li Jiuzhou nodded in agreement. A bigger house is indeed more comfortable to live in.

Like Sha Zhu's main house in the courtyard, it has been coveted by countless neighbors.

However, Li Jiuzhou's agreement does not mean that even a fool would agree, since he is now the one who has to pay the bill.

The decision rests with him.

Seeing that his senior brother nodded in agreement, Sha Zhu naturally didn't have much of an opinion. Besides, his father was asking him to borrow money, not taking it openly.

My dad borrowed several loans before, and he paid them all back in full.

When He Daqing lent money to Sha Zhu, he never intended for him to pay it back.

But his father insisted on being a good person, so he let him have his way. Sha Zhu would occasionally buy him some good cigarettes and alcohol as a way of showing filial piety.

Buying a house is a serious matter and something that should be done; my father's considerations are perfectly reasonable.

So he began to speak:

"How much do you need? Go home and get it now, and while you're at it, go check out the house."

He Daqing had already decided how much he wanted to borrow from his son, and held up five fingers:

"Five hundred yuan is enough."

Sha Zhu asked, "Is this enough? Should I take more?"

He Daqing waved his hand: "That's enough, there's still money at home. Come home with me to get the money when you have time, and we'll get the house settled today."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu looked at Li Jiuzhou and asked, "What do you think, Senior Brother?"

Li Jiuzhou laughed and said, "Go ahead, business is important. Take a good look at the house."

Sha Zhu nodded, then said disdainfully, "No matter how nice my dad's house is, can it compare to my family's main house?"

He Daqing couldn't help but curse, "That's still something I bought, damn it!"

"It's mine now!" Sha Zhu retorted defiantly.

He Daqing's tongue was also a bit sharp, and he couldn't help but scold Sha Zhu:

"Hurry up, stop dawdling and wasting time, or I'll beat you up."

In the past, Sha Zhu wouldn't have talked back to He Daqing, but things are different now. Sha Zhu has grown up and is now known as the "Cook of Tyranny."

So he retorted:

"If you can beat me now, I'll take your surname!"

Li Jiuzhou couldn't help but interject, "Doesn't that still carry the surname He?"

Sha Zhu's face twitched slightly, and he said stiffly, "Anyway, my dad can't beat me, so I'll just stand here. Dad, how much do I look like I used to?"

He Daqing was both amused and exasperated. His son was still the same son, his mouth still sharp enough to drive anyone mad. In the past, when he lost his temper and wanted to hit him, he would at most chase him all over the yard.

But now?

If I were to lay a hand on him, I'm afraid my son would really beat me to death.

That fighting prowess wasn't just talk; it was earned through real combat.

It's something everyone in the culinary world knows, according to rumors:

"You might be able to win if you compete with Chef Bao in cooking skills, but if it comes to fighting, you'd better find a good feng shui spot, get beaten to death, and bury him right away."

He Daqing waved his hand: "Alright, alright, Zhuzi, you're a grown man, and you're even married. Don't fight all the time."

"Go home."

"Okay, let's go."

The father and son each rode a bicycle back to the yard.

The old women in the courtyard greeted He Daqing warmly when they saw him.

He Daqing responded to each of them, and happily said that his wife was pregnant again.

Wow, the neighbors were really amazed, amazed that He Daqing was truly fucking amazing.

My son is already in his twenties and is about to have a grandson, and his wife is pregnant again. Amazing!

Qin Huairu managed the family's money. When asked if her husband needed it, she went back to her room without a word, grabbed five hundred yuan, and handed it to He Daqing.

He Daqing had been secretly watching Qin Huairu's expression, trying to see if she would be unhappy.

The result made him very satisfied and gratified. He thought to himself that he had made the right choice in choosing this daughter-in-law. With her in charge of the household, his son would definitely have a good life in the future.

So he smiled at Qin Huairu and said, "Huairu, there are some things I need to make clear to you two. This money is a loan from me, and I will pay it back to you two when I have more money."

Qin Huairu smiled slightly after hearing her father-in-law's words: "Father, we're family, so let's not be so formal."

"It's only natural for a father to ask his son for some money, and Zhu Zi and I weren't there to take care of you either."

"I don't like hearing you say things like, 'Take this little bit of money and don't worry about paying it back.'"

"Hahahaha...Good, good, good, my dear in-laws, you've raised a wonderful daughter." Hearing this, He Daqing laughed heartily and said "good" three times in a row.

Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu both had smiles on their faces.

"Alright, Zhu Zi, you take Huai Ru with you over there, have lunch together, and check out the house."

Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu, indicating what she was thinking.

Qin Huairu smiled and said, "I don't have anything to do at home, so I'll go and take a look. I'll let Yushui and the old lady have lunch together."

Sha Zhu didn't return until the steel rolling mill closed for the day.

Li Jiuzhou asked a few questions casually, but then lost interest.

However, he also had some thoughts about the house. Now that he had the money, could he buy one?

He was conflicted because his father-in-law's family had faced a housing crisis a few months earlier.

The neighborhood committee came to his door, saying that there were only three people in his family, and it would be a waste for them to live alone in the courtyard. They wanted to arrange for other residents to move in.

Of course, I don't stay for free; I pay rent.

Old Fan was terrified. He would rather let people live there for free than charge them rent.

If we collect this rent, we'll immediately be labeled as exploiting us.

The neighborhood committee thought that Lao Fan's family was just an ordinary local household and easy to manipulate, so they targeted him.

Old Fan wasn't stupid; he went to find his son-in-law. Who said he didn't have any relatives? This is exactly what he needed.

Li Jiuzhou naturally didn't have the ability to solve this problem, so he told his second uncle about it.

My second uncle resolved the matter in less than a day.

So it's not that Li Jiuzhou didn't want to buy a courtyard, but that it was extremely troublesome.

If you didn't have connections, you really wouldn't be able to keep it.

Those private courtyards with no connection to the main residence were all arranged to be occupied.

The length of stay is not up to the homeowner or the neighborhood committee.

Those tenants will live there for decades and have grandchildren by then, and it will be unclear who owns the house.

The next day was a day off. Director Wang from the subdistrict office led a group of staff into the courtyard. Bingbing was there too; she had gone to the subdistrict office early that morning, so she was working overtime.

Director Wang came to look at the house, specifically the east wing of courtyard number 95.

She came to see if it could be slightly repaired so that a few people could move in, since there were too many people in Beiping who needed housing and it was difficult to arrange for them.

The neighbors in the courtyard went to see what was going on, but there was no sign of a chain of doors in the courtyard, which was overgrown with weeds.

Every now and then you can see clumps of dried Oli Gei.

It's all because the people in the courtyard are too lazy to go to the outhouse and secretly relieve themselves here.

Director Wang was furious when he saw these dried "Oli Gei" (a type of fried dough).

He then proceeded to berate Yi Zhonghai and his liaison officers:

"How do you manage this compound? Aren't there any outhouses outside? Why are you coming here to relieve yourself? Where's the public's civility?"

Yi Zhonghai and his two companions were so humiliated by the scolding that they couldn't lift their heads, and the neighbors also looked embarrassed.

They also got a share of the "Oli Gei" (a type of spicy snack) inside.

We can't escape the blame; everyone has a share.

Even Li Jiuzhou has been here, but he used an alternate account and didn't come here to show off.

After inspecting the area, the craftsman said to Director Wang:

"Director, repairs are possible, but it's better to tear it down and rebuild than to repair it; the price isn't worth it."

Seeing this, Director Wang lost interest in repairs. The street office had no money, so he figured it was best to leave it as it was. Before leaving, he left these words:

"Get rid of all this stuff today. Even if no one can live here, you can't use the toilet here."